There has been known a surface light source device employing a light guide plate (see Patent Literatures 1 through 3, for example).
The light guide plate is designed and produced so as to (i) have: two end parts in its length direction, at least one of which serves as a incident surface; and two end parts in its thickness direction, which serve as an exit surface and a back surface, respectively, and (ii) direct light, emitted from a light source, incident on the incident surface, so as to cause the light to exit from a substantially entire area of the exit surface.
The light that has entered into the light guide plate is totally reflected from the exit surface and the back surface of the light guide plate, so as to exit from a substantially entire area of the exit surface.
It is desirable that the surface light source device (i) has less leakage of light from the back surface of the light guide plate, (ii) emits more light from the exit surface of the light guide plate, and (iii) has uniform luminance distribution in the light-emitting surface.
In view of such a light source device, there has been conventionally known, as an advantageous technique, the use of a light guide plate which has a wedge shape as being viewed cross-sectionally in a direction orthogonal to a width direction of the light guide plate, which wedge shape has, in its length direction, (i) a root end part (an end part having a greater thickness), a surface of which serves as the incident surface, and (ii) a pointed end part. Such a light guide plate can direct more light toward its pointed end part. Therefore, a surface light source device including the light guide plate whose cross-sectional shape is a wedge shape has been widely applied to the surface light source device.